Styrene maleic anhydride (SMA or SMAnh) is a synthetic polymer that is built-up of styrene and maleic anhydride monomers. The monomers can be almost perfectly alternating, making it an alternating copolymer, but (random) copolymerisation with less than 50% maleic anhydride content is also possible. The polymer is formed by a radical polymerization, using an organic peroxide as the initiator. The main characteristics of SMA copolymer are its transparent appearance, high heat resistance, high dimensional stability, and the specific reactivity of the anhydride groups. The latter feature results in the solubility of SMA in alkaline (water-based) solutions and dispersion.